Henry started with his new Slots.
“Still can’t use that new Trait slot. But I now have a spot for Tentacle Whip.”
Henry purchased Tentacle Whip. It was a synergetic Skill and he wanted it in his arsenal. He then dismissed the level-ups, quickly putting his new point into Strength.
“If I’m ever getting through whale skin, I need Strength. Now, for the main course.”
Henry pulled up the first Skill upgrade and immediately noticed the difference.
“No options this time?” He couldn’t even read anything. He just had to trigger the Upgrade. So he did.
Sub-skills unlocked for Bite!
His mind and body buzzed in a familiar manner when he approved the upgrade. Once the process was over, he finally had access to the updated description. Henry started reading, and his mouth dropped.
“Holy shit.”
He had been hoping for something good, but what he got was much better than anything he’d expected.
Bite (E) - Level 1
F-Rank: Your bite inflicts more damage.
E-Rank: Temporarily gain an aspect of your target's bite. Aspect is available until used.
Maw of the Trickster: Store anything you can fit in your maw in a private storage dimension. Maximum volume: 5L
“Why is this so much better than my previous Skill upgrades? Is it because these are my own Skills?”
Henry hummed. The new abilities did seem like they fit the general theme of Magic Mimic. Was he getting better upgrades because his species’ Skills were synergizing with his own Trait?
He re-read Maw of the Trickster; if he could smile, his cheeks would be hurting by now. He still couldn’t store his turtle shell, but everything else? Cores? Samples? Anything he found interesting? Into the vault they’d go.
“Thanks, System.”
The volume limit seemed fair, and he hoped it would get better as the Skill leveled and if it did, he’d eventually be able to store the magic-turtle shell. Maybe.
“Just gotta be optimistic.”
Henry immediately pulled up his next Skill, hoping to see something as impressive as Bite’s upgrade. He wasn’t disappointed.
Sub-skills unlocked for Mimicking Tentacles!
Mimicking Tentacles (E) - Level 1
F-Rank: Your tentacles can mimic shapes and lifeforms somewhat accurately.
E-Rank: Temporarily mimic some of the physical properties of recently ingested prey.
Alter Physique: Gradually increase or decrease your overall size and mass over the course of a few hours. Maximum mass: 5 kg.
“I might be able to store the turtle shell after all.”
Henry sat down and re-read everything new he’d gotten. “This changes everything. I need to take my species’ abilities a lot more seriously.”
Henry triggered Alter Physique. It gave him some small feedback, and he felt like he could vaguely set his desired size, so he tried pushing it as much as he could.
He just wanted to know how large he could get. Weight meant mass, and mass meant more exerted force. Plus, he could always reduce his size again.
“I hope it’ll increase fast with levels. Same with Maw.”
The Skill began slowly feeding off his mana, and a slight tingle went through his body before fading away.
Henry still reeled at his new abilities. “Are my Skill upgrades always going to be this good?” He looked down at Inkjet. “What about you? What will you be able to do once you’re upgraded?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He needed to start working on Inkjet as well. He glanced outside, and even through the excitement at the new Skills he could feel fatigue creeping in. And he remembered that his time with Deepcaller and the whales was limited.
“I’m going to be alone.”
He shook his head. Every day that passed, he was getting better and better at braving this ocean and surviving within it. He was adapting.
“Eyes on the prize. Once I’m out of the water, I can worry about everything else.”
Henry looked around his turtle-home and out into the reef. He nodded to himself.
“A quick nap. To rest, and so Alter Physique can finish its work. Then back to hunting.”
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“Not bad. I’d say… 30% or so?”
He hadn’t thought of taking measurements before going to sleep, but when he woke up, he noticed how everything seemed tighter around him.
Henry examined his tentacles, their lengths and thickness. “20 to 30%.”
He hadn’t gotten big enough for his home to trigger claustrophobia, but it was enough to make him feel slightly uncomfortable.
“So. What’s the plan?”
He could go and explore the reef a bit further. He might encounter those Whipcrack sharks and whatever else lived in that area. Or he could head to the kelp forest.
“The serpent lives there… and that thing’s venom is terrifying.”
Henry paused. He could steal its bite. But he didn’t think he could survive biting into that thing’s flesh even if he managed to bring it down.
“Shouldn’t I have some ability to resist poisons? Aren’t octopi in general good with this sort of thing?”
He examined his abilities for a few minutes. “‘Accelerated Regeneration: Recover from injuries and ailments faster.’ That should help with venoms and poisons. And I did get a Trait for having used Hoard Vitality so much. Maybe I’ll get something for toxins if I train myself?”
Henry considered it. He should probably build up some more Hoard Vitals charges before he tried playing with dangerous toxins. Maybe he should keep it to weaker stuff?
“Maybe I could find that starfish again. It hadn’t been too powerful. I should start slow.”
Henry nodded to himself.
“The reef. I’ll do some exploring there. Work on Inkjet… and see what I can find. Also collect some Cores with Maw.”
That one Skill might be what he was most excited about. How much would he be able to fit within it?
“One way to find out…”
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[Riptide Shark (F) - Lvl 61]
“Last one. But this one is massive.”
The Core popped out of existence as soon as it came in contact with his mouth, and Henry swam away from the fully decapitated carcass.
Whipcrack sharks descended from the surface.
“Damn. They’re almost never alone.”
Henry looked away, leaving them to their meal. He slowly swam through the reef, squirted ink in the face of a telekinetic Eel that tried to stop him, and dove down when he saw a starfish.
[Spike-crowned Starfish (F) - Lvl 6]
“Is this like the crown-of-thorns starfish? It has a few levels… Well. One way to find out. I should have enough health charges in case anything goes wrong.”
Henry put a tentacle on the starfish. Before he could force one of the thorns through his skin, the pointy bit exploded outward.
It didn’t pierce his skin.
“Damn,” said Henry. He looked down at his tentacle and sighed as brought it up to his beak. “Ah, this sucks.”
He bit his skin open, then he lined it up to another spike. When the mechanism triggered, it barely stung.
Then he felt a familiar burning sensation settle in.
Henry activated Mimicking Tentacles, becoming a ball of algae, and waited. “Let’s see what happens.”
He watched the local population while the venom tried–struggling–to work its way up his tentacle. It felt a bit numb, but so far he hadn’t even lost any health, so he wasn’t worried.
Henry picked one of the venomous spikes and crunched it with his beak. “Hmm.. no Skill.”
His mouth tingled as he watched the surroundings.
This area seemed to have some dangerous denizens. There were the Whipcrack sharks, all of which were E-Rank. There were larger Riptide sharks. The crabs were present as well, and definitely larger, and the telekinetic eel he’d seen was the third he’d found in the last hour.
“I was probably lucky to wake up near that monster’s territory. It seems like most locals knew the area was bad news and stayed away.”
The venom stopped burning after a few minutes. When Henry examined the area in question, it was spotless.
“I guess I do have some mild resistances. Or I can only be poisoned by something with a high enough level.”
Henry considered making another donation to the serpent to lure it out, but it might have gone elsewhere. And what were the odds that he’d be able to instigate another fight between it and the sharks?
“Probably better odds if I just go there and try to track it. Plus, there isn’t much around here other than Riptides that I can easily kill. Maybe there’s something good to hunt over there?”
Henry hummed, watching the Whipcrack sharks roam far above. They’d already finished swarming over the Riptide, and nothing was left.
“Barely 5 minutes and they cleaned it up.” He eyed the sharks. “If I can get on one of their backs, I could use the usual trick. The problem is getting out of there after.”
He shook his head. They were swimming too far up.
“There must be an easier target around.”
Henry kept his algae disguise and began swimming back home, keeping an eye out above him and on his surroundings. Halfway through, he noticed a peculiar spot he must have missed earlier.
He slowed down, and would have frowned if he’d had any eyebrows. It was a soft patch of sand, but no fish were around. Neither big nor small. Then someone stepped out from behind a rock at the edge of the patch and Henry’s blood froze in his veins.
“Henry?” the voice echoed out of the luminescent figure. “Is that you?”
His mother smiled up at him and opened her arms invitingly. “I missed you so much.”